Thanksgiving

This will be an unusual post from what I normally write here. I have been very busy in the past two months with a great number of recitals, symphony services, new puppies and training, Thanksgiving preparation, end-of-semester preparation, and the National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). I apologize for not posting more in this past month, but I had a daily goal of writing 2,000 words for the NaNo project, and I had a few tough weeks back there trying to squeeze in everything else at the same time. So sorry I have not been as active on the blog as usual.

First, let me say how touched I have been to read your many notes and comments to me. It is sometimes a very lonely life as a writer, because there are so few opportunities to interact directly with readers. I do not receive very much reaction or many comments, so I have not developed the habit of checking my comments very often. Imagine my surprise to check things today and discover so many lovely comments from so many people! How very sweet of you all to take the time to write to me! You have given me a precious gift of encouragement and renewed enthusiasm. More posts to come!

Second, I want to offer my thanks to you for allowing me the opportunity to stand on a soapbox and preach about good (and bad) teaching, parenting, and learning. I do have a message about the importance of all of us becoming and being the best that we can be for the sake of our children, and I appreciate that you have been supportive of my efforts to "get the word out."

Third, I really do encourage you to write to me either as a comment or as a personal email. Your comments and emails to me provide me with ideas and prod me to think of new and interesting ways to solve many of the problems we face together. I am thankful that you take the time to let me know what you would find helpful to discuss in future blog posts.

Fourth, I am also open to guest posts, interviews, book reviews, and the like. If you have an idea, a contribution, or some news to share, please let me know. Dr. Suzuki was never one to limit his instruction or materials to an elite group of teachers, so I am personally sure that he would bless our continued exploration into the realm of teaching materials and ideas, whether they bear the Suzuki "stamp of approval" or not. Send me your thoughts and we will take it from there.

Fifth, I am proud to announce that I successfully completed the NaNoWriMo 2011! I finished and uploaded my novel for validation at midnight November 24, 2011 (or should I say November 25?). I successfully completed over 50,000 words written in November on the project. Actually I was over the minimum, and I actually have one little section more to add. I have a few more days until the final deadline to add that material, but officially I have "won" at this point. I am very proud of meeting this goal, and I spent some time this morning contemplating the various lessons I learned from the experience. The biggest thing I learned is that carpal tunnel is a serious issue! We really need to be conscious of how we hold our wrists when we use our computers. This is a serious topic for a future blog post, I assure you!

So there you have it. I have been really busy, but I am coming to a place where I can resume my regular posting. I welcome your ideas about future posts. I have been working my way through book 1, but I am perfectly willing to jump around to another place as folks direct. I have had a request for new or beginner mom tips. Let me know.

NaNoWriMo Winner's Badge 2011

Oh, for those who are interested in what my NaNo writing project was, I was writing a book about how to set up and run a music teaching studio. Since the NaNo rules require that the work be fiction and my writing project contemplated nonfiction, I was stumped about how to participate in this November ritual, which is something I have always wanted to try. I discussed my disappointment with some writing friends, and they slapped me around a little bit. I refused to cheat, because I would know that I was cheating, and that just is not who I am. Then someone reminded me of Truman Capote's creative nonfiction genre, that got me thinking, and there you have it! I found the solution to my dilemma.

I have titled the book "The Music Studio" for now as a working title. I created four characters in various stages of teaching experience and life in general, and I let the book unfold each day in 2,000 word increments. I found the experience exhilarating in how the story took shape. Each character brought unique perspectives and problems into bas relief, and I was able to address in writing each subject area. I came up with more ideas for the book than I had originally planned to use. I was also surprised to see how much the book and the characters in the book depended on the inclusion of various goal setting exercises. There are many, many different ways to set goals, and I realized while writing the book that many of these goal setting tools were more appropriate at various times in our lives. I had not thought of goal setting in that manner before, but the fictional component of my story brought this aspect to the forefront for me.

Of course, now I have a mass of words to edit. I hope to spend December doing just that.

Happy Thanksgiving (one day late)! Enjoy those leftovers and a nap or two.

-- Paula

How to Practice, part 4: Using a Practice Journal

For my own practice purposes, I have found it useful to use a practice diary or journal rather than a practice log. The actual journal itself can be whatever is comfortable for you. I bought a little spiral notebook that isn't much larger than an index card. Here's how I use the journal.

In the very beginning of the book (or starting from the back pages of the journal if you prefer), I leave a few blank pages. I write my goals on these pages. Leaving them in the beginning (or back pages) of my journal, I can easily refer to them. I like to include several levels of goals:

• Long term goals: These are the goals that I want to accomplish in the next 5-10 years. I usually start with figuring out what my age will be 5-10 years hence, then I just list a few goal ideas. I can always add to this list or delete completed or obsolete items as time passes.

• Mid-range goals: These are the goals that I want to accomplish in the next 1-5 years. Again, I consider how old I will be, and then I compile my goal list.

• Short-term goals: These are the goals that I want to accomplish in the next 6 months to 1 year. After the short-term goals, I consider what I want to accomplish:

• This quarter (three months ahead)
• This month
• This week

My purpose in computing my age in order to compile my goal list is that I find it gives me greater clarity in terms of the time ahead. I expect to live to over 100 years of age, and I find it helpful to plan accordingly (smile). After I have finished listing my goals (and I will revise them from time to time as I go along), I list my weekly goals at the start of my current week of the rest of the journal pages, which is where the meat of my journal begins.

I put the date on every single page. If I am using a larger notebook, I might be able to put two days on 1 page. I write the date for every single day as it occurs, even if I skip a day of practice. If I skip a day of practice, I write down the reason why I skipped the practice. Sometimes I find this simple trick is enough to encourage me to practice anyway rather than have to write down my excuse.

After the date, I write down what I practice as I practice it. This can be detailed (e.g., 3 octave scale, G major, acceleration routine) or just a quick note to myself if I tend to follow the same pattern.

I continue to list items as I complete them. If something comes up in my practice that I need to work on, and I'm not willing to practice those items at the moment, I turn the page in my journal forward to the next day and write myself a note about what I want to practice. Then I flip back to the current day's page and continue my work.

Once I have completed my practice, I make any notes to myself on the following day's page (or perhaps even further in the future) about things I want to follow up on, and then finally I note how much time I spent on my practice session. I find the act of keeping track of my practice or playing time is crucial to my keeping myself injury-free. I have had students come to me with complaints of worrisome aches in elbows, neck, shoulders, or fingers, and when I look through their practice journal, I find the cause of the pain is generally due to the student's inattention to the amount of time they are playing.

If I have to do a lot of heavy playing one day, I try and balance that out with an "easy" day the next day. What is a heavy day for me may be different for one of my students or for you. By working with a practice journal, it will be easy to determine what a heavy day is. So I log in any sort of playing. If I practiced 2 hours in the morning, then play a 2.5 hour rehearsal in the afternoon, and play with my students for another 2 hours, I will have spent about 5-6 really solid hours playing my instrument. I can sustain this kind of playing for a few days, but eventually I need to balance this out with an easier more restful day. Fitness experts tell us that it takes 48 hours for a stressed muscle to recover, so I generally adopt a hard-easy-hard-easy practice plan whenever possible. The journal keeps me aware of my activities with the instrument, and it provides a record that can be useful later when diagnosing problems.

I also use the journal as a place to record my instrument maintenance activities: replacing old strings, rehairing my bow, buying a new shoulder rest. I usually put a huge asterisk or use a colored highlighter pen to bring the information to my attention. Here is a sample page from my practice journal from January 6, 2011.

practice journal: 4 x 6 memo book

Let's look at the information on the page. Along with the date in the top margin, I also noted "AQ vln" and "1.0 hard." "AQ vln" refers to the violin I use with the Artisan Quartet, one that blends well with that ensemble. "1.0 hard" refers to the length of time I practiced and my perceived effort, in this case I felt that I had put out hard effort in my practice. I noted this information because I play on more than one violin. If I start to note specific injuries, I might notice a pattern; perhaps some injuries are a result of switching between instruments. I also keep track of perceived effort, because I don't want to do too many "hard" days in a row. I need to insert an "easy" or "medium" day now and then to keep my body and mind fresh and injury free.

The next notes refer to my specific practice, in this case the Beethoven string quartet, op. 74, all of it and some specific detailed work on certain sections. My next three comments refer to how I am feeling physically. I've been monitoring my fingers because they have been extremely dry lately and feel tight unless I have enough lubrication on them. My shoulder has been bothering me because I think I pulled it a while back while working with my horse. I've been keeping track of it to be sure I don't aggravate the sore area by doing too much of a particular practice that might upset my healing. I have noticed that with the new violin that other physical issues have manifested themselves, so I check in on my neck too. Note my reminder to check the height of my shoulder rest to be sure that the shoulder rest isn't causing the neck ache. And finally, I wrote a reminder that I need to order new strings. When I finally put the strings on my instrument, I will also notate that in my practice journal.

I have found the practice journal to be especially useful when recording my practice, managing my practice details, and recording my observations about a great number of things. I hope that this tool will also be useful for your particular practice situation.